Rep. Bachmann Is A Socialist! Another GOP Attack Bites The Dust

October 14, 2010 10:00 am ET —
Matt Finkelstein

With so many pro-GOP groups running attack ads this election
cycle, one name has consistently showed up in ads across the country: Nancy
Pelosi. The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Jobs
Security, Americans
for Tax Reform, and the American Future Fund
have all aired ads tying Democratic candidates to the vilified House Speaker.
In a series of ads, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) disapprovingly
notes what percentage of the time incumbent Democrats have voted with Pelosi. Here's
an example:

The clear message of these ads is that voting with Pelosi is
inherently disqualifying. However, as The
Hill reported
yesterday, a number of top Republicans have sided with the "enemy" a
significant percentage of the time. Indeed, even members of the Republican
leadership and some of the most conservative lawmakers in the country have
agreed with Pelosi on more
than 50 percent of their votes this year:

Boehner has voted with the Democratic leadership 52 percent of the time in 2010. So has Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), chairman of the Republican conference
and former head of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), the House Republican whip, and Rep. Pete Sessions (Tex.),
head of the GOP's House campaign committee, are even cozier with Pelosi.
They've voted with her 57 percent of
the time.

And Rep. Michele
Bachmann (Minn.),
the conservative firebrand who has compared the Democratic agenda to socialism?
She's with Pelosi on 58 percent of
House votes.

Predictably, the NRCC responded to the report by questioning
the numbers — which were compiled by Democratic leaders — instead of
acknowledging that the party's anti-Democrat fear mongering might be just a bit hyperbolic.